well... yes and no.
see me and a few friends puzzled this out a while back, the original Kaminoan troopers are the highly trained shock troopers with decent gear you speak of, however sometime between episodes 3 and 4, the emperor nuked the place, and filled the ranks with mass produced cheaper versions.
those helmets make for very poor visibility and all in all simply look scary, since nothing stops a blaster bolt. no, that armour does not, in fact, stop a blaster bolt, and is sort of like handing everyone a full-body flak jacket
those standard issue t-11 blaster rifles? couldn't hit the broadside of a barn at ten paces.
those mass produced clones? emperor cut SO many corners, their cognitive functions and training is VERY substandard. THEY couldn't hit the broadside of a barn at ten paces.
then we have people coming out of the imperial academy. these people are likely stupid grunts as well, who live on street level on planets like Corascant if they're being fielded as stormtroopers.